Blog
Power plant greenhouse gas emissions don’t contribute significantly to ‘dangerous air pollution’
CEI recently submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Proposed Rule to repeal greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for fossil fuel power…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Welfare and work with Kevin Corinth
In this week’s episode we cover new inflation data, public attitudes about Social Security, and California’s self-inflicted energy crisis. Our interview…
News Release
Supreme Court ruling on social media age verification isn’t the final word: CEI analysis
The Supreme Court today in an emergency ruling declined to block Mississippi from enforcing an age-verification law imposed on nine social media platforms. The trade group…
Blog
Trump revokes Biden’s bogus competition order, but it’s only a start
President Donald Trump just revoked President Biden’s 2021 “Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” That’s welcome news, as I explain in…
News Release
Latest Producer Price Index numbers show a 0.9 percent increase, tariffs to blame: CEI analysis
July’s Producer Price Index (PPI) numbers show a 0.9 percent increase in final demand prices, up 3.3 percent over the past 12 months. CEI…
The Daily Economy
The Founders Would Be Appalled by Trump’s Tariff Policy—Even Hamilton
President Trump has, it is clear, upended the global trading system and America’s place in it through his aggressive use of tariffs as a tool…
The Daily Economy
The Founders Would Be Appalled by Trump’s Tariff Policy—Even Hamilton
President Trump has, it is clear, upended the global trading system and America’s place in it through his aggressive use of tariffs as a tool…
Blog
EPA right to propose repeal of 2024 power plant mercury rule
The Obama EPA’s 2012 rule for mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants may have been the agency’s least defensible measure ever under the Clean Air…
The Washington Examiner
Biggest immediate change for Fed under new chair likely to be tone shift
The Washington Examiner cited CEI’s expert on inflation Ryan Young, a senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, pointed out that the new chair would…
The Washington Free Beacon
Mainstream Media Reports Cite ‘Nonpartisan’ Research Firm to Trash Trump’s Repeal of Green Energy Subsidies. Its Leader Helped Biden Write Those Subsidies Into Law.
In other words, Energy Innovation didn’t properly analyze the impacts greater wind and solar reliance have on consumers, Stein told the Washington Free Beacon. “They make…
American Greatness
Chester Arthur was a Champion of Government Accountability, not the Architect of the Deep State
Was America’s 21st president responsible for spawning a perpetual class of unaccountable power-wielding bureaucrats? In an article for American Greatness, Thaddeus McCotter…
Blog
Happy birthday, Smokey Bear! Let’s fight forest fires the right way
Smokey Bear, the famous US Forest Service (USFS) mascot, celebrated his 81st birthday this past Saturday, August 9. Smokey Bear was created in 1944…
News Release
Trump’s pick for Bureau of Labor Statistics should update data collection methods, not play politics
CEI labor and economy experts say President Trump’s nominee to head the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics should improve data collection for jobs and…
Blog
July CPI: Inflation still above target, politicized clouds on the horizon
Today’s CPI report is not apocalyptic, but still concerning. This is in line with expectations. The CPI rose 0.2 percent during July, and 2.7…
Blog
Closing the window on public media funding
A door has closed, but windows remain open. Recently, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced that it would discontinue operations in light of…
Blog
Half of 2025’s public laws are Biden rule killers
In a notable twist, Congress has spent half of 2025’s lawmaking undoing Biden regulations. So far in the 119th Congress, 31 public laws have been…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed Environmental Protection Agency Rule Repealing 2024 Mercury Provisions for Coal-Fired Power Plants
August 11, 2025 Environmental Protection Agency: National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Coal- and Oil-Fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units Notice…
Blog
The week in regulations: Blue food coloring and pipeline recordkeeping
The Liberation Day tariffs took effect on August 7. The president continues to announce new tariffs on pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and more. Republicans are proposing gerrymandering…
Blog
Trump’s economy off to a slow start
Last week, the Bureau of Economic Analysis released its estimates of the performance of the US economy in the second quarter. The headline result…
Blog
Trump EO on debanking is a mixed bag for financial freedom
President Trump’s new Executive Order (EO) on debanking correctly decries the weaponization of the financial regulation, and contains many good provisions preventing government regulators…
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA’s Proposed Repeal of Powerplant Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards
Re: Docket No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2025–0124 Dear Ms. Thompson: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), we respectfully submit these comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Girlbossing the discourse with Emma Camp
In this week’s episode we cover the controversy at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, myths of the auto industry, and a…
Letters
CEI Joins AEA in Request to Align IRS Clean Energy Guidance with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Sunset of Wind and Solar Subsidies
Re: Request for Revision of IRS Notices related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Dear Secretary Bessent, We respectfully request that the Internal Revenue…
Letters
Request for Revision of IRS Notices to Align with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Executive Order 14315
Re: Request for Revision of IRS Notices related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Dear Secretary Bessent, We respectfully request that the Internal Revenue…
Comment
CEI and PLF comment on Implementation of Clean Water Act Section 401
Dear Ms. Kasparek: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and the Pacific Legal Foundation, I appreciate this opportunity to provide comments on the Environmental…
Blog
AI’s real job threat is to Washington, not workers
There’s no denying artificial intelligence (AI) can replace a lot—including, eventually, the very think tankers analyzing its effects as we do occasionally here at CEI.
Blog
The CAT’s nine lives could be up
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently vacated a funding proposal for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) largest regulatory program to date. Known…
Blog
BLS data is faulty, not rigged
The federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has struggled in recent years to produce an accurate measure of the national employment situation. President Trump…
Blog
The week in regulations: Nuclear coolant and medical food
President Trump’s Liberation Day tariffs are set to take effect on August 7 for countries he did not strike deals with. He is also ending…
Blog
How ‘Unrules’ are powering down the bureaucracy
The year 2025 may be remembered as the year regulation hit pause. As of the end of July, 1,518 finalized federal rules have been published…
Forbes
Rise Of The Unrule: Fewer Rules, Fewer Agencies, And No Apocalypse
There was Hollywood’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. Now meet Washington’s Year the Regulation Stopped. The end of July 2025 finds just 1,490 finalized regulations published…
Forbes
Trump Must End Dodd-Frank’s Backdoor Tariffs Blocking Critical Minerals & Impoverishing Congo
News Release
July adds 73,000 jobs to the economy, major downward revisions for May and June’s numbers: CEI analysis
The economy added a modest 73,000 jobs in July, with major downward revisions for May and June triggering alarms about the state of the…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Crushing capitalism with Norbert Michel
In this week’s episode we cover the Trump administration’s AI action plan, Detroit’s unlikely rebirth, pushing back on EU tech regulation,…
DC Journal
Point: Medicaid Work Requirements Are a Common-Sense Reform
Medicaid is the government program that is supposed to help the poor afford health care. Its cost to taxpayers has skyrocketed in the last few…
News Release
Interest rates not budging, Fed to focus on inflation not stimulus: CEI analysis
The Federal Reserve announced today that they are holding steady on interest rates in a continued effort to combat inflation. CEI senior economist…
Citation
Trump EPA Moves To Rescind Obama-Era Legal Basis for Gas Car Regulations
The Washington Free Beacon cited CEI expert on EPA “Fossil fuels still produce more than 80 percent of the nation’s energy—regulating greenhouse gas emissions, therefore,…
The Washington Times
Flurry of huge trade deals bury Trump tariff doubters
The Washington Times cited CEI’s expert on tariffs Mr. Trump says his immediate predecessors didn’t understand the power of tariffs for creating revenue and leverage in…
News Release
GDP grew by three percent in the second quarter of 2025: CEI analysis
The GDP grew by three percent in the second quarter of 2025, marking a return to growth after first quarter shrinkage. CEI senior economist…
News Release
EPA proposes rule to overturn regulatory finding justifying major restrictions on consumer choice: CEI analysis
Today, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s proposed rule that would overturn the 2009 endangerment finding. For 16 years, this finding has been…
Blog
Congress considers micromanaging PBM finances
With the first reconciliation bill behind it, Congress is now looking to reform other aspects of the health care system. Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM)…
Blog
Rail merger does not create monopoly
Union Pacific has proposed buying Norfolk Southern in what would be the largest railroad merger in history. Regulators have not yet approved the merger. The…
State Policy Network
Week in Review: July 25, 2025
Sate Policy Network cited CEI on ESG policies The Competitive Enterprise Institute reported that some asset managers are leaving ESG-focused investing behind, aligning instead with taxpayers and…
E&E News
EPA seeks to limit its power to curb climate pollution
“There is a compelling argument that the major questions doctrine by itself would prohibit the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases,” said Daren Bakst, director of…
Utility Dive
Trump’s AI action plan calls for dispatchable resources and grid upgrades
Utility Dive cited CEI’s expert on AI Paige Lambermont, a fellow at the conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute, said, “Only so much of this can…
Civitas Institute
Current Antitrust Actions Endanger America’s AI Edge
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near one” writes J.R.R. Tolkien in The Hobbit. But that’s precisely…
Blog
EU tariff agreement could be worse, still not the final word
In January, Americans paid an average tariff of under 5 percent on European products. Similar to his recent Japan agreement, President Trump’s new agreement…
Bloomberg Law
Supreme Court Kept Universal Service Boondoggle on Life Support
The strident insistence that someone else will pay a tax has been a dominant theme of 2025. Last month, the US Supreme Court stuck to…
Issues and Insights
Congress Misses Opportunity To Repeal IRA Stock Buyback Tax
Republicans hailed the One Big Beautiful Bill for achieving tax cuts and spending reductions. Despite this victory, the bill was missing a fix for an unwarranted…
Blog
The week in regulations: Cable TV and paper straws
Ozzy Osbourne, Hulk Hogan, and Chuck Mangione passed away. President Trump issued an Executive Order on artificial intelligence and announced a tariff deal with Japan.
Blog
Victory for liberty: 11th Circuit vacates SEC’s unjust CAT funding rule
In a decisive blow to regulatory overreach, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals last week vacated a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rule that…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR Letter Urging U.S. Action on Korea’s Digital Trade Barriers
Dear President Trump:We write to thank you for your continued leadership in protecting American Innovators from unfair and discriminatory foreign digital policies. The Republic of…
Blog
Favorable selection in Medicare Advantage can’t be managed from the top
A previous post covered how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) attempts to mitigate upcoding have been unsuccessful. Another often-decried activity…
Marketplace
Where will Japan’s $550 billion investment in the U.S. go?
MarketPlace cited CEI’s expert on Tariffs For Ryan Young, senior economist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, this deal — where the president allegedly directs…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Costs and benefits of urban transit with John Charles
In this week’s episode we cover Dodd-Frank’s 15th anniversary, a victory for homeowners in Oregon, and an alternative to socialist grocery…
NPR
Trump’s EPA now says greenhouse gases don’t endanger people
NPR cited CEI’s expert on the EPA “Since the 2009 endangerment finding, the EPA has been trying to regulate greenhouse gases and as a…
Blog
Trump’s AI Action Plan: Deregulation on paper, industrial policy in practice?
Donald Trump’s follow-up executive orders to his 2020 artificial intelligence (AI) offerings and the new Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan signal…
News Release
CEI experts react to White House AI Action Plan
Today, the White House released “Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan”, a multi-faceted policy document intended to help the United States keep its…
Blog
The number of agency-made rules for every bill passed by Congress last year was…
When you think about the production of laws in the United States, you probably picture something like the Schoolhouse Rock video “How a Bill Becomes…
Blog
America’s tariff-induced isolation grows
Few other nations or trading blocs can announce tariffs on the whim of one man, as President Trump claims the power to do (although…
News Release
President Trump announces 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods: CEI analysis
Last night, President Trump announced a trade deal with Japan that included a 15 percent tariff on Japanese goods, including cars, entering the US. CEI…
National Review
Sesame Street Will Still Be Open
The beloved children’s show Sesame Street has for decades been portrayed by fans of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) as the first thing that will be gutted if the…
Blog
The PERMIT Act is an important step for permitting reform
Tomorrow, the House is expected to consider the Promoting Efficient Review for Modern Infrastructure Today Act or PERMIT Act (H.R. 3898). It contains several…
RealClear Markets
Michelle Bowman’s Reforms Will Help Reverse Dodd-Frank Damage
America’s community banks are disappearing and forming more infrequently. These local lenders once dotted every city and small town, offering small business loans, farm credit,…
Blog
Dissolve the Sugar Program
Last week, President Trump declared on Truth Social that Coca-Cola had agreed to use cane sugar in its sodas. The announcement…
Blog
Top-down management can’t fix upcoding in Medicare Advantage
Among the most consistent criticisms of the Medicare Advantage program is that private plans game the system. Over the years, policymakers have devised…
Blog
Latest rescissions bill finally kills spending on 1987 Montreal Protocol
The most recent congressional rescissions package will block $9 billion in spending, including funds for United Nations (UN) environmental treaties such as the 1987…
Blog
New bill would repeal the Jones Act
Over at the National Interest, Paige Lambermont and I take a look at the Open America’s Waters Act from Sen. Mike Lee…
RealClear Markets
Of Women, Energy and Entrepreneurship: The Karen Buchwald Wright Story
RealClear Markets cited CEI’s experts on Energy and Entrepreneurship Awards, Recognition, and Impact Karen’s achievements have garnered national recognition. In 2016, The Heritage Foundation honored…
Blog
The week in regulations: Subsistence fishing and electric borrowers
Regulators focused on cleaning up mining regulations this week, with more than 20 rules revised or rescinded. Inflation crept upward as tariff-related price increases worked…
Blog
Dodd-Frank 15 years later: How financial regulators leveled up
The leadup to Dodd-Frank This month marks the 15th anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act. This law was enacted in the wake…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: Corporate responsibility and taxpayer protections with John Mozena
In this week’s episode we cover new Trump tariff rates, Obama’s endorsement of housing abundance, and why the green energy industry needs…
Blog
No Escape: SUVs don’t fit Vietnam’s roads or its market
This year marks 30 years of America’s diplomatic relationship with Vietnam. In that time, both nations have worked together on everything from joint economic ventures…
Blog
Predicting a brighter regulatory future for prediction markets
CEI scholars have many skills, but predicting the future is not one of them. However, when it comes to prediction markets, based on recent events,…
Blog
ESG refugees: Ally with taxpayers
Yesterday the Competitive Enterprise Institute published my new study with John Mozena, “Corporate Social Irresponsibility: After ESG, activist investors should side with…
Blog
How to end the ‘free rider’ problem with union representation
Congressman Rick Allen (R-GA) has re-introduced the Employee Rights Act, legislation that would codify several individual workers’…
Letters
CEI Joins ATR: Applauding U.S. Action on DST, Calling for Tougher EU Trade Terms
Dear President Trump, Thank you for protecting American innovators from abuse by the Canadian government through their Digital Services Tax (DST). We also applaud your…
The Hill
5 things to know about the latest inflation report
The Hill cited CEI’s expert on Trumps tariffs and inflation Additionally, many of Trump’s tariffs apply to component parts rather than finished consumer goods. The…
Blog
America targets Korea with illegal tariffs, strengthens China
President Donald Trump is in the process of imposing a 25 percent tariff rate on South Korean and Japanese imports to the United States. This…
The Daily Economy
New York’s Socialist Temptation: Young People’s Idealism Ignores Economics
Socialism,” said the British free speech campaigner Lord Young, “Always begins with a universal vision for the brotherhood of man and ends with people having to…
Letters
CEI letter to EPA regarding Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act
Dear Administrator Zeldin: The Competitive Enterprise Institute applauds the Trump administration’s efforts to streamline the federal permitting process for major projects, including those for energy,…
News Release
Inflation increased in June, tariff troubles likely cause: CEI analysis
Inflation rose 0.3 percent across all sectors in June, marking the beginning of Trump’s tariffs’ effect on prices. CEI senior economist Ryan Young…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed Social Media Rulemaking
On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the social media rules proposed by the Attorney General’s Office:…
Forbes
The Dreck Equation: A Drake Equation For Mapping The Hidden Universe Of Federal Regulation
Joe Biden’s 2024 regulatory big bang—106,109 Federal Register pages—shattered cosmic records. But the 3,000 notice-and-comment rules chronicled there every year and archived in…
News Release
Report advocates responsible investment, rejects crony subsidies
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) released a new report on the importance of reinstating responsible investment practices by rejecting corporate welfare strategies and…
Study
Corporate Social Irresponsibility
Executive summary State and municipal governments across America are engaged in a massive transfer of public resources to private corporate interests in the name of…
Blog
The Dreck Equation: Charting the regulatory cosmos
Most people think of federal regulation as the 3,000 or so rules published each year in the Federal Register and archived in the Code of…
Blog
Congress should support the Grizzly Bear State Management Act
Tomorrow, the House Natural Resources Committee will meet to consider 12 pieces of legislation that have been introduced in the 119th Congress. One of…
Blog
The unfinished state AI regulation debate
Following internal party negotiations, the Senate declined to include a multiyear moratorium on state artificial intelligence (AI) regulation in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.”…
Blog
California’s fast-food minimum wage is super-sizing job losses
Minimum wage increases would be a fine idea if they worked the way that their fans assumed that they did: increasing the take-home pay of…
Blog
The week in regulations: Deep seabed mining and recreational gulf gag
A massive flood in Texas killed at least 120 people. President Trump announced new 50 percent copper tariffs which will take effect on August 1.
Blog
Tariff letters go out, with little rhyme or reason
The table below lists all the countries to which President Donald Trump has so far sent letters informing them of new universal tariff rates. The…
Comment
In Defense of Consumer Choice: CEI Supports DOE’s Withdrawal of Overreaching Regulation on Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products
Department of Energy: Energy Conservation Program: Proposed Withdrawal of Determination of Miscellaneous Refrigeration Products as a Covered Consumer Product Notice of Proposed Withdrawal of Determination:…
American Action Forum
“The FTC’s DEI for Conservatives”
Fred Ashton with the American Action Forum highlights the intersection between merger enforcement and the culture wars.
Reason
“The 8th Circuit Court Was Right To Kill the FTC’s ‘Click-to-Cancel’ Rule”
Jack Nicastro with Reason discusses the recent striking down of a Lina Khan era rule.
Blog
Congress should recognize the importance of prescribed burns
The Clean Air Act (CAA) requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six major air pollutants:…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: AI frontiers with Corbin Barthold
This week’s episode features Corbin Barthold, Internet Policy Counsel at TechFreedom and host of the Tech Policy Podcast. This is a…
DC Journal
What the Media Gets Wrong About Medicaid ‘Cuts’
Headlines assert that the reforms Republicans recently passed amount to a trillion-dollar cut to Medicaid. The New York Times calls this the most significant cut to federal…
Daily Economy
“Meta on Trial—But Free Enterprise Is the Real Defendant”
Walter Donway uses the FTC’s case against Meta to argue that antitrust should not be used to punish success.
Blog
The logbook of federal red tape last year came to…
The Federal Register for 2024 closed out Joe Biden’s final year in office with a record 106,109 pages. This count swamps the previous record of…